Navigating the Economic Landscape

Posts Tagged ‘cronyism’

The overarching theme both at this blog and in my book is the need for our nation to embrace the rule of law as the prerequisite to healing our economy and leading to better days ahead.

Flouting the rule of law is regrettably an all too common pursuit by those engaged in crony and corrupt practices. Our nation suffers badly as a result.

While all too many politicians from both sides of the aisle spout forth messages that do little more than distract, the future of our country depends on finding new leaders who care nothing for cronyism and embrace the rule of law. I personally believe that in the recent Republican House race in Virginia Dave Brat slaughtered former House Speaker Eric Cantor with this very approach.

I will keep the commentary brief today but a smile crossed my lips this morning as I read an editorial in today’s Wall Street Journal by a Sense on Cents favorite Bill Isaac. This former chair of the FDIC wrote about the manner in which Uncle Sam has abused the rule of law in the process of managing our nation’s housing finance behemoths that go by the name of Fannie and Freddie. (more…)

At what point do we as a nation say ENOUGH to the lies and scandalous practices within and around Washington?

I am referring to the lies — and yes, they are lies — that were put forth by the Attorney General’s office in the investigation of mortgage fraud. If you do not think Eric Holder, Lanny Breuer, and others intentionally misrepresented — er, lied — regarding the efforts of the DOJ to the American public, I beg to differ. (more…)

“The question I’m asking is whether or not there’s adequate deterrent to prevent the largest financial institutions in this country from breaking the law,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said at a Senate Banking Committee hearing today. “Right now, if financial institutions can just settle their claims out of court, and get a raise for settling them, then where’s the deterrent?”

Senator Warren pressed regulators about their current enforcement efforts, noting that the “the public has little confidence in regulators’ willingness to seek the kind of penalties that will actually deter future financial crimes.”

With those two statements, Senator Warren (D-MA) indicts the current scandalous practices if not outright corruption that lies at the intersection of Wall Street and Washington and provides the public’s concluding sentiment as detailed in In Bed with Wall Street. The clip runs a mere 6-minutes.

What to do about this? How about we start with the following:

1. Congress should launch a privately run Office of Whistleblower Protection.
2. Wall Street’s private police detail, that is the financial self-regulatory organization FINRA, should no longer have absolute immunity and should be subject to the Freedom of Information Act.
3. Wall Street arbitration should be optional and not mandatory so as to end the kangaroo court.
4. End the self-regulatory oversight of Wall Street.
5. BREAK UP THE ‘TOO BIG TO FAIL’ BANKS!!

Is anybody in favor of the ongoing cronyism and corruption that defines our current system?

A healthy does of ‘sense on cents‘ in this 18 minute exchange between Bill Moyers and The New York Times’ Gretchen Morgenson. Call it what you want but from my standpoint capitalism and democracy are being compromised by cronyism and corruption. The evidence is overwhelming.

The health and well being of future generations require that we must continue to call out the crony collusive conspiracy at play in America. Check this out and pass it along.

Navigate accordingly.

for those receiving this commentary via e-mail, you can access this video here.

I have no business interest with any entity referenced in this commentary. The opinions expressed are my own. I am a proponent of real transparency within our markets so that investor confidence and investor protection can be achieved.

Throughout our continuing economic crisis, I have found the former chair of the FDIC to be an individual who tried to do what was right on behalf of the American people while promoting the rule of law and principles of free market capitalism. I juxtapose those strengths with practices pursued and implemented by an array of government officials, financial regulators, and their financial consorts.

I would like to believe I am the ultimate free market capitalist. I embrace and respect those who take risk and embody the entrepreneurial spirit that is the engine of our nation.

I detest and abhor those who utilize their positions to further a spirit of crony capitalism in America. I would count many of our politicians from both sides of the aisle in this camp.

How do we advance the former group while exposing the latter? Well, that is a topic for another day.

Today let’s review a brief video (thank you to the readers who brought this to my attention) that some may like to use to advance a liberal agenda of income redistribution. I strongly believe that approach would be an enormous mistake, and merely serve to perpetuate and exacerbate our current problem with cronyism and government handouts/bailouts. Watch the video, and then I’ll make a few comments: (more…)